KINGSTON – A proposed 5.8 percent Silver Lake Regional School District budget increase has town officials from the district’s member towns raising concerns about their ability to pay.

The preliminary budget won’t be finalized until at least the March 13 School Committee meeting but currently calls for a nearly $1.3 million increase from $21.8 million to more than $23 million.

Based on last Thursday’s preliminary budget overview, the proposed increases that are classified as required include $364,000 for all step and lane increases, $108,800 for retirement assessments and Medicare, $18,300 for a special education aide at the middle school, $205,900 in insurance increases and $8,100 for transportation.

Superintendent John Tuffy noted that the preliminary budget as of Feb. 13 includes several assumptions related to healthcare costs, enrollment and other factors.

Halifax Selectman Kim Roy, who has children in the schools, said town departments in Halifax are holding to level funding on expenses and the School Committee should act similarly while it considers what the member towns are able to pay.

Tuffy said a good educational program and good educational results are the goals of the school district, and it’s in the hands of the School Committee to decide what budget requests to support.

“It’s the willingness and ability to pay that we’re talking about,” he said.

School Committee member Maureen Springer said the district has been through some lean years that has put it in a position where it needs to catch up and think about what students are entitled to that is missing from the schools.

“What about what they didn’t get?” she asked. “Nobody ever mentions it.”

Kingston Selectmen Chairman Elaine Fiore acknowledged that both the schools and the town face challenges.

“Nobody wants to see anybody left behind, but it does all come down to tough decisions,” she said.

Roy also questioned how Tuffy decided on the school districts he used for Silver Lake per-pupil cost comparison purposes. She said she’d prefer that per-pupil costs be compared among regional school districts with the same size budget and per capita income.

Based on fiscal 2012 financial information provided by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Silver Lake’s per-pupil in-district cost was $12,932 compared with the state average of $13,121.

Replacement increases include $142,500 for technology, $16,400 for textbooks and $30,500 for equipment.

Recommended increases include $32,400 for a science coordinator, $4,600 for the special education department head, $99,000 for a 1-on-1 computer initiative, $51,800 for an engineering and technology teacher at the middle school and $52,000 for a case skid steer tractor.

Early assessment figures were also released but are dependent on several factors, including approval of the preliminary budget, legislative approval of the governor’s state aid amount and no change in the minimum contributions amounts.

Page 2 of 2 - If these factors were in play, the assessment for Halifax would be $4.5 million, an increase of $476,699, or 11.8 percent, the assessment for Kingston would be $7.8 million, an increase of $529,618, or 7.4 percent, and the assessment for Plympton would be $1.8 million, an increase of $278,12, or 18 percent. State aid is approximately one-third of Silver Lake’s revenue

The School Committee will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, at the high school to continue its budget discussions.